by Maurizio Troccoli
Recognized by most as the identifying product of our region, DOP oil from Umbria, despite its high quality prerequisites, presents unsatisfactory numbers. This is certified by the data from the Qualivita Foundation, which indicates a step backwards in production and its market, while on this product, its supply chain and its related activities, there were and are expectations that identify it as the product of maximum potential expansion .
PRODUCTION IN UMBRIA: SCROLL THROUGH THE IMAGES
Probably more than wine, truffles and other regional excellences of Umbrian agri-food requested by the market for the recognized quality of the process and product. In short, the oil is very similar to that high-performance car which however is driven like a small car: it does not cause stability problems, it makes an excellent impression on every good occasion, everyone admires it even when it is parked, but it does not conquer the podium in the race, as he could do instead. Among the main opportunities not seized by DOP extra virgin olive oil from Umbria is the lack of a protection consortium. And this is even more so if we take into account the fact that, not surprisingly, the largest olive oil companies in Italy reside in Umbria, two names for all: Monini and Farchioni. Spontaneous question: who should take charge of a protection and valorization consortium?
The numbers that certify the ‘contained’ trend of this market show that certified production went from 462 tonnes in 2018 to 431 in 2022, with peaks of 542 in 2020. But if quantities are not everything, it should be added that the value of production went from 4.62 million in 2018 to 3.84 in 2022, while that of consumption rose from 6.29 million in 2018 to 7.35 million in 2020 and then fell back to 6.31 million in 2022, in the phase of maximum appreciation of extra virgin olive oil. Exports also remain stable at 1.42 million in turnover, an identical value in 2022 to that of 4 years ago, despite the parenthesis in 2020 which saw it rise to 1.69 million.
The conditions are all there and are transversally recognized to make the Umbria PDO an economic driving force, but a vision is needed. And perhaps greater collaboration between large and small, between quality and quantity, between those who produce and those who govern. The premises are a high quality of the product and production. The natural context of Umbria as an ideal habitat for the types of its olive groves, mostly centuries-old. The olive grove belt, with its landscape recognition, is the indisputable example of this. Not only that, the collection and transformation methodologies, its precious oil mills, the wisdom handed down through generations, a widespread culture and the scientific approach with the support of the Perugian university, the many specialized subjects involved in the oil supply chain, the variety of olives but also of the natural environments, from Trasimeno to the Upper and Middle Tiber Valley, together with the managerial skills increased over years of international experience of the major business protagonists in this sector, all this imposes a commitment that becomes a result . Oil roads and routes linked to oil tourism cannot be enough, even if they are fundamental.
To the Sun 24 Hours, the director of Origin, the national association of Italian PDO and PGI consortia, said: «The Umbria PDO represents one of the best-known oils in the world. In recent years the lack of a protection consortium has limited the development of the product
certificate that gives precise guarantees on the origin of the raw material. It is strange how the largest olive oil companies in the country are in Umbria and the production of the PDO in this region does not reach satisfactory values compared to the olive growing potential of the region. We need a new protection consortium for the relaunch”
